The White House has sharply criticized Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s statements that the United States encourages the continuation of military operations in Ukraine, writes the BBC.
After visiting China, Lula announced that it is time to start talking about peace in Ukraine. White House spokesman John Kirby insulted Lula for “repeating Russian and Chinese propaganda.”
Lula, who is presenting himself as a mediator in peace talks to end the war, said over the weekend that the US should stop inciting war and start talking about peace. The comments followed the Brazilian’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. China already published a peace plan in February, which avoids mentioning the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Brazil on Monday, the 17th of April, and said that Moscow is “grateful to our Brazilian friends for their clear vision of the situation.” He added that he is also grateful for their desire to get involved in solving the situation.
Kirby said the Brazilian president’s comments are simply misguided and miss the point,
implying that “the United States and Europe are somehow not interested in keeping the peace, or that we are responsible for the war.”
Brazil’s Foreign Minister responded to the White House spokesman’s comments by saying he had no idea how Kirby came to those conclusions.
Brazil has not joined Western sanctions against Russia and has refused to supply ammunition to Ukraine. While Brazil is calling for peace talks, Ukraine has indicated that an immediate ceasefire would allow Russia to keep territories seized by force.
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